That plush white bathrobe you wore at your last hotel stay was the epitome of luxury, wasn't it? Maybe next time you'll just accidentally pack it in your suitcase and bring it home to relive the experience.

Or not. A Miami company has patented a washable radio frequency identification, or RFID, chip that's designed to track towels, robes and even bed sheets.

The system is the product of (the aptly named) Linen Technology Tracking and software specialist Fluensee. The intelligence of the product, called "Linentracker," uses LTT's SMARTtags and runs on Fluensee's supply chain management platform.

Why the Big Brother approach? Simple: in the hospitality industry, one of the largest expenses of room occupancy is the growing cost of linen supplies -- but until now, hotels are in the dark with regard to where those assets are, both when they're in the hands of customers and when they're being laundered by outside vendors.

Here's how it works: each asset is scanned and monitored to and from the laundry, in and out of linen closets, at various check-in or check-out stations, down laundry chutes and even at pool and beach kiosks. AssetTrack monitors everything in real time, then offers insights via its reporting and analytics engine.

It's not just preventing theft, either. The real-time aspect allows hotels to make their workflow more efficient, the companies say.

Andrew Nusca is a former writer-editor for ZDNet and contributor to CNET. He is also the former editor of SmartPlanet, ZDNet's sister site about innovation. He writes about business, technology and design now but used to cover finance, fashion and culture. He was an intern at Money, Men's Vogue, Popular Mechanics and the New York Daily Ne...
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